Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India, has reiterated her determination to return home by December despite facing possible imprisonment or even death, while calling for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted.
Speaking through an audio message during a media interaction hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi on Aug 5, Ms Hasina said she remained committed to returning to Bangladesh.
“I will return to my people,” she said, adding that she would reveal the exact date when the time was right. “I know that they may put me in jail or they may kill me, anything may happen, but still I have to go back,” she added.
The event marked Hasina’s first media interaction since she fled Bangladesh following her ouster in 2024. She also alleged that the student-led protests that toppled her government had evolved into an organised campaign to remove her from power.
It was was Ms Hasina’s first media interaction since she fled Bangladesh. Although she had been expected to appear by video, she delivered only an audio message from behind a blank screen. It was not immediately clear why she did not appear on camera, unlike several Awami League leaders and her son, who spoke earlier.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry condemned the event, calling it “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and warning that allowing Hasina to address the media could harm bilateral ties with India.
